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Kavitha Lankesh (ಕವಿತಾ ಲಂಕೇಶ್) is an Indian director, screenplay writer and a lyricist who predominantly works in the Kannada cinema industry. She began as a documentary film-maker before directing her first feature film, Deveeri (1999), which went on to win international, national and state awards. She is thus considered to be one of the renowned film-makers of Kannada cinema. She has directed and produced more than twenty documentaries/informational films and over twenty-five corporate films. Although she has not directed a lot of films, many have won awards and appreciation from critics.

Early life and background
Kavitha was born in Bangalore, India on December 13, 1974. She is the daughter of P. Lankesh. Her mother runs a sari stop in Bangalore city. Kavitha hails from a prominent family of journalists and media publishers. Her father P. Lankesh founded the highly successful weekly tabloid Lankesh Patrike. She has two siblings, Indrajit and Gauri Lankesh. Her brother Indrajit Lankesh is an acclaimed film-maker and her sister Gauri Lankesh was the chief editor of the tabloid. At age 16, her father started planning and saving for Kavitha’s marriage, but she convinced him to take the money and travel the world instead. So she traveled through the US and Europe. Kavitha holds a Masters in English Literature from the Bangalore University and a diploma in advertising. Before her film career, Kavitha had an advertisement agency. Kavitha decided not to get married. Instead, Kavitha is a single mother by choice to her daughter, Esha Lankesh. She now lives in a suburb of Bangalore with her daughter and her two German shepherds.

Career
Kavitha started her films with a series of documentaries. She has made films about Bannerghatta National Park in Bangalore, the Siddi tribe, and Ninasam, a cultural organization that promotes the development of theater and films. Kavitha started her feature film career with a documentary on children's nature camp. Deveeri, a movie based on a short story by P. Lankesh, Akka, saw her debut as a director. The film stars Nandita Das, Bhavana, Master Manja, Kashi, B. Jayashree. Deveeri won Kavitha Lankesh state, national and international awards, including the International Critics Award, National Debut Director Award, and the Aravindan Puraskaram for best debutante director in 2000. Deveeri participated in eighteen international film festivals and won nine awards. Kavitha’s second film was Alemaari. The film has Bhavana and Prakash Raj in the lead roles. Kavitha wrote the story and screenplay and directed Bimba. The film has Raksha, Prakash Raj, Daisy Bopanna and Sampath Kumar in the lead roles. Bimba was selected to compete in the Bangkok film festival and has gotten raving reviews from critics. Kavitha wrote and directed Preethi Prema Pranaya, a drama film, in 2003. It won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada and the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Story. Malgudi Days was a Hindi television series originally directed by Shankar Nag, but was revived in 2006 directed by Kavitha. The responses were positive. Kavitha also wrote and directed Tananam Tananam, a romantic musical drama in 2006. The story was based on a Tamil story written by Kalki. This film debuts Tamil actor, Shaam, with Ramya and Rakshita in the lead roles. Although the film had average to negative responses from critics, it won at Filmfare Awards South for Best Actress and Best Lyricist. Kavitha directed Avva, a Kannada drama film, in 2008. The film was based on a novel, Mussanjeya Katha Prasanga, written by her father. The film has Shruti, Duniya Vijay and Smitha in the lead roles. The film had many positive reviews from critics and won awards at the Karnataka State Film Awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Story writer. Kavitha wrote the screenplay and directed a Tamil drama film as well called Kadhal Mazhai in 2008. The film had Shaam, Rakshita, Ramya, Girish Karnad, Bharathi Vishnuvardhan, and Seema in the main roles. Kavitha also directed Crazy Loka in 2012. The stars of the film were V. Ravichandran and Daisy Bopanna. Kavitha is currently working on directing and producing a drama film, Kariya Kan Bitta. The film has an expected release in 2018. The film stars Duniya Vijay, Yogesh, Srinagar Kitty, and Anu Prabhakar.